Step Up 4: Let Loose
by xxWARxx
Summary: Brynn Griffins. Ex-ballet dancer, current hip-hop/RnB dancer, cousin to Moose. "Damn," Jason said. "She's good." "She IS related to Moose." Anala agreed. "You thinkin' what I'm thinkin?" he asked. Anala smiled and nodded at her fellow crew mate.
1. Penelope Brynn Griffins

_Disclaimer - I don't own any part of the Step Up franchise. I do own, however, all of the OC's in this story._

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* * *

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_**Interest**_

Penelope changed back into her clothes she was wearing when she first arrived at ballet class; a pair of jeans and a plain pink T-shirt with her scuffed up sneakers. She grabbed her bag and walked out the door, heading for the main doors. Her sisters had left her in the changing room all alone and said they'd wait for her at the main entrance. She rushed down the long hall with her duffel bag clutched to her tightly. She reached the front and saw her two older sisters sitting on one of the few benches waiting for her. In the practice studio next to them people were still dancing. The looks Annalice and Genevieve gave them were filled with disdain and disapproval. Penelope looked to her right and saw why. It wasn't because of anyone who was in that class, as she had thought but it was they style of dance they were dancing.

Hip-hop.

"Ugh," said the oldest of the sisters, Annalice.

"How can they dance to music like that?" agreed the middle child, Genevieve.

The lady at the desk-Ms. Keener-shot a glance at the girls who just uttered those words. Her eyes narrowed but she went back to the computer screen.

Penelope, however, didn't agree. She just watched what they were doing, how they were doing it. Their bodies moved in a way so foreign to the little girl, that she was entranced by it. She was used to grace and poise, to the low classical music. They weren't pointing their toes, or spinning on them. They were spinning on their heads. It almost looked…_fun_. The music was loud, the beat fast. It shook the glass. The way their feet moved seemed inhumanly fast to her.

"Mommy's here," Genevieve said abruptly. Penelope blinked and followed behind her sisters. She was the only one that said bye to Ms. Keener and she replied politely, even though she didn't particularly like the rest of her family.

"What were you girls staring at?" Angelina asked, spotting her daughters in the rear view mirror. Her brown eyes sparkled with curiosity. Her long dark hair tumbled down her shoulders in thick curls.

"People were dancing that stupid style you and daddy don't like," Annalice answered.

"Oh?" inquired their mother. "Hip-hop? RnB or whatever it's called."

"Yes," Genevieve said.

"Disgusting style," muttered the dark haired woman venomously. "You girls do know you shouldn't _ever_ try anything even remotely close to that, right?"

"Yes," the two oldest daughters said in unison. Penelope didn't say a word, just continued staring out the window at the buildings and homes and streets that were passing her.

"Penelope?" her mother asked sternly while her eyebrow arched up.

"Yes," she said quietly.

That was thing about dancing. In her family, it was _vital_ to be in ballet. That meant training nonstop; never _ever_ missing a meeting, no matter what; and don't complain and face it with a smile. It also meant hating every other style of dance her parents and sisters hated. Though she was only five, she thought she ought to have at least _some_ opinion and not everything had to be ballet, ballet, ballet all the time. She found hip-hop interesting, despite what her parents said about it. She liked the way they seemed so free, so careless about their movements but yet, in a way, she could tell that they were putting so much effort into it, to make it flow just right so it _could_ seem like it was careless and easy. Though their movements weren't exactly graceful and elegant, they had something to them. Penelope couldn't put her finger on it. The music sounded fun and happy, unlike the classical music her parents made them listen to. Penelope understood why they would want to dance to that kind of music. Fast, loud, up-beat, seemingly effortless, freedom…

All the things her parents were against.

* * *

_**Against the Rules**_

By age thirteen, Penelope was staring to loosen up about her parents rules against certain things. Dance especially. Some of the music she had on her iPod were something her parents would have a heart attack to. It was the complete opposite to what they wanted her to listen to. She danced to it secretly, making sure the door was locked and the windows closed.

She was just about to pull her iPod out of her pocket when she felt herself slam into someone. Penelope stumbled back and mumbled an apology to the person she just ran into. Drew Smith, the blond who had a violent streak and was twice Penelope's size just looked down at her. Apparently she didn't hear the apology.

Heh heh.

Great.

"Did you just run into me?" she asked menacingly.

"Yeah and I apologized," defended Penelope.

"You made me ruin my Science Project."

"Once again, I'm sorry." She tried to step past the blond girl with puke green eyes that burned with anger but it was no use. Drew pushed Penelope and Penelope pushed right back. Drew's meaty fist flew forward but Penelope side stepped it. Drew tried again and Penelope just bent backwards, dodging her attack. Like an elastic band, the meaty fist drew back and Penelope sprang back upright. Before she could do anything however, Drew's hand enclosed round the front of her shirt collar and she was yanked toward the blond. Instinctively, Penelope's fist flew forward and connected with her nose.

"AAH!"

Penelope fell to the floor, grabbing her book bag and running towards the -

"Penelope!" a loud voice yelled. She turned to see a lady in dress suit with her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail with her arms crossed over her chest. "In my office. Now."

XxX

"You got into a fight at school?" her father screeched. "Why?"

"I accidentally bumped into someone."

"Did you apologize?"

"Yes."

"Not well enough apparently," said Genevieve snidely as she checked her nails. She reapplied the pink polish to it. Next to her Annalice snickered. Their mother cast them warning looks but didn't say anything. _Figures_, thought Penelope. _Of course mom wouldn't say anything. Annalice and Genevieve are just too perfect._

"I did it out of self-defense."

"I don't care. You are grounded Penelope Brynn Griffins!"

_Penelope_. She never liked the name. She preferred to be known as Brynn. Most of her friends called her that. Her teachers called her that. It seemed like the only people she would have thought would call her that, since she liked it better, were her parents and sisters. Even her cousin Moose still called her that and they hadn't seen each other since last Christmas. They never called each other by there real names but by the names they liked to be called by. Ever since they were little they've been like that.

"Go to your room," her father said calmly, but she knew his anger was right underneath the surface, ready to explode any second.

As she lay in bed that night, she thought back to how fast she would react when Drew's fist almost collided with her. She would twist and turn and duck effortlessly, as if it were easy. As if she had been doing it all her life.

As if her body was made for it.

_Now if only ballet came that naturally to me_, she thought, _then maybe my father wouldn't think of me as failure compared to my sisters_

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* * *

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_**Breaking Point**_

Two years later, at age fifteen, she'd had enough of it

Her feet moved in time with the music, never missing a beat. Normally, she would lock her door and close the windows and anything else this situation called for. But she was angry and the only way she could simmer down and let the emotion leave her body was if she was dancing. _Hip-hop_ dancing.

Her back was to the door when her father walked in. He noticed her and what she was doing. When Penelope turned around again she came face to face with her father. They stood there, just staring at each other, his eyes wide with shock, disbelief and anger while hers were just as wide and contained shock, disbelief and -

His hand came in contact with her cheek so hard and loud a cracking noise rolled through the house. Her head snapped to the right due to her father's force and her breathing became labored. She panted and stared at the tile floor of her room.

"Pack your stuff," he said, rage fueling his voice. The words came out sharp and rough, slicing the space that separated them. "Your leaving. I'm sick and tired of this. I refuse to have someone who dances in such a foul manner live under my roof."

"You make it seem like it's illegal to dance like that! What if I don't like ballet and all the crappy music you _force_ me to freaking listen to?" she yelled at him once her head was facing him once again, trying to prove her point she's had for so many years.

"Watch your tone with me young lady," he pointed a firm finger at her. "That _crappy music _you say I _force_ you to listen to is the kind of music that is respectable and classical. It's the kind of music people should listen to more often rather than that _shit_ you were just dancing to."

"Well I'm, sorry _father_," Penelope spat out sarcastically. "I'm sorry I couldn't be the Prima Ballerina you always wanted me to be. I'm sorry I couldn't be as perfect as Annalice and Genevieve. I'm sorry I like dancing _my own way_."

"I've been a great father and this is -?"

"A great father? No. This family treats me like shit, aside of mom. And sometimes she doesn't act like that because of _you_.Genevieve is a royal bitch to me due to the fact that you spoil the crap outta her. Hell, Annalice is nicer to me than she is. You don't understand the meaning of being a great father."

He glared daggers at her but instead of being scared she held her ground.

"You are a _disgrace_ to our family."

His words hurt her. rammed into her ten times harder than his slap ever could have, those words did. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before returning to normal. Tears were waiting to tumble down her cheeks but she was determined not to let that happen. She wouldn't show him that he had caused her any pain. They continued to stare at each other for a bit before he stalked out of the room. She could hear her mother and father fighting and yelling. Traces of the conversation could be heard.

"Why…shut up… she doesn't…how could you -"

"The hell she doesn't…disgracing our…"

"It was bound to happen sometime," a sarcastic voice remarked that wasn't part of Penelope's parent's feud. Genevieve stood in the doorframe, casually leaning against it. Penelope's anger bubbled up to it's surface and she marched over to where her dear sister was and balled her hands up.

"Genevieve stop," Annalice interfered but her sister didn't take that wonderful advice that she should have.

"Wipe that smirk off your face," Penelope said angrily.

"Or what?" Genevieve taunted, her smirk growing larger at her sister's anger. "Your going to dance like that again. All you'll really do is make me puke up dinner."

Penelope's balled up fist slammed into her sister's jaw, causing her to stumble and hit the wall. Genevieve slammed into the wall behind her and sunk to the floor. She sat on the floor with her hand on her jaw and a horrid look on her face as she said, "You _bitch_!"

"Just because you're older than me," Penelope said menacingly at her sister, "never gave you the right to treat me like a piece of crap. That punch was for all the times _you_ were a bitch to _me_."

Penelope walked back into her room and with shaky hands locked the door as she began her packing, with tears tumbling down her face, hot and fast, dripping off her chin.

XxX

She didn't hug anyone as she was about to get on the plane. She just turned to them. Her mother looked sad, but if she was she didn't say anything. Genevieve glared at her. Annalice looked a bit saddened at her youngest sibling's retreat but she didn't say anything either. Finally her eyes landed on her father. Again, no emotion.

"I guess I'll…go now," Penelope said before turning away. She didn't know what to expect. Maybe it was for one of those dramatic scenes in a movie where, as the person is walking away, ready to board the plane, someone calls out her name and they have an emotional talk and the protagonist is convinced to stay and they all live Happily Ever After.

_Yeah_, she thought, snorting quietly to herself. _That won't happen._

And it didn't.

There was no long, heartwarming talk about why she should stay and that their sorry for treating her the way they did for all those years. No one calling out her name. She just looked down at the tops of her scuffed up Nikes and continued walking.

Once she was on the plane, she pulled out her iPod, put a headphone in each ear, leaned back against the chair and let the music that she had been secretly listening loose. For once she didn't feel bad in the slightest that she was listening to the music she had grown to love so much. She skipped over any classical songs that she forgot to delete. She kept her eyes closed. She kept the volume up high. She kept the smile on her face.

* * *

**Hey guys! So, this is my first Step Up fanfic and I hoped you enjoyed the first chapter. I saw the Step Up 3 and when it was over I kept thinking about making a sequel (which happens a lot after I see a movie I REALLY like) but I thought it would just pass...Turns out, it didn't. It was up to the point where I couldn't stop thinking about it (major obssessing) and before I knew it, I had the idea for this story, Step Up 4: Let Loose. Like I said (wrote?) before, this is my first Step Up story and I would really appreciate it if you guys would give me some feed-back. Tell me if you love it, hate it, like it, dislike it-put it all in your review. Got a question? PM me! :D Once again, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter and hopefully you liked it enough to stick around for the next chapter...? :D Well, thank you for reading it, whether you liked it or not. Please review to tell me what you think, what you suggest needs to be improved, etc. :D**


	2. The OddBall

_Disclaimer - I don't own any part of the Step Up franchise. I do own, however, all the OC's that have been incorporated into this story that came from me._

_**Welcome to Baltimore!**_

"_Passengers, welcome to Baltimore!"_

Brynn looked up at the speaker as the automated voice chimed cheerily.

_This is it_, she thought.

Once she was off the plane with all of her bags in hand she waited. She had called her cousin, he said he were on his way. A few more minutes and everything would good. Brynn closed her eyes at the thought. Soon, she'd be at her aunt's house. A place where, oddly enough, she felt the most comfortable. She never had that feeling when at home _home_. The place she'd lived for most fifteen years of her life never felt like _home_. All because of how she was raised.

Brynn leaned forward and rested her elbows on her knees and her head in her hands. She remembered when they would drive to Baltimore for Christmas. Those were the days - the _only _days - when she would completely forget about her sisters and hang out with Moose and Camille and, every now and then, Camille's older brother Tyler. They would play in the street, mainly dancing. That's when she started getting the hang of it. The twisting, turning, gliding, spinning-all of it. Those were the days when she found the rhythm that had been buried deep due to ballet classes. She smiled to herself, remembering it. The days when she could smile without having to worry if her parents could tell if it was fake or not.

"Ya know," a voice said in her ear, "if you keep doing that, your posture is going to be ruined and I know Aunt Angelina and Uncle Jerry wouldn't appreciate that too much."

Her head snapped up. There standing before her was her curly-haired, lanky cousin. A smile graced his face and he held out his arms. Instantly, Brynn launched herself into them. It felt good to see him. It reminded her that not everyone in her family were jackasses

They pulled up to a house that sat on the curb. It wasn't anything big; a one story with a few windows. The walls were an off-white color while the roof and door were a red. Brynn smiled.

She walked over to where Moose was by the trunk, hauling her bags up and out of the space, setting them gently on the concrete. They picked up the various bags and walked up the driveway. The click of the door unlocking seemed quite loud in the still, cold Maryland air. Walking across the threshold, Brynn noticed some familiar things: the large painting that seemed to catch your eye immediately after you walk in, the picture she had made for them when she was about seven years old (red, blue, green, and yellow were splattered everywhere), the portrait of Moose and Camille dancing in the yard. But what mostly caught her eyes were -

_They still have it._

"Hey," Moose called from the kitchen. "If you want, go get changed."

"Okay," she replied as she walked away, down the long hall and into the bathroom. She shrugged off her book bag and tugged it open. Brynn pulled out her toothbrush and toothpaste. She began brushing, letting the cool minty feeling spread through her entire mouth. Once she was done with that she pulled out a pair of black. She stripped out of the jeans and pulled on the sweats. She turned her head and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror.

Brynn leaned forward, placing her hands flat against the icy counter top and looked at her reflection. _Really looked at her reflection_. Her hair wasn't anything like her sisters' was. Annalice and Genevieve had that long, straight, thin hair that curled a bit at the ends. Annalice's hair color was more of a coppery brown courtesy of both her parents while Genevieve had dirty blond hair courtesy of her father. Neither had bangs. Brynn, however, had dark, thick brown hair that stopped just before her breasts and it had that wispy style to it with side bangs that were long enough to cover her entire right eye. Natural black highlights mixed with it. Her eyes were darker than night itself while her mother and Genevieve had the lightest brown eyes they almost seemed slightly golden and her father and Annalice had the clearest blue eyes that, at times, they could seem transparent in a way. She had full lips while her siblings and parents had thin ones. She had always had a skinny body; all three of them had. But Annalice and Genevieve were straight as cardboard, not much of a body shape and not that much cleavage. They could pass for tall second graders. Brynn had a nice body shape and average sized boobs for a fifteen-year-old girl.

She had always been different, never really fitting in with the rest of them. She struggled in ballet while her sisters thought it was the easiest thing you could do in the world. They made it seem effortless: hardly ever messing up, moving fluidly. To Brynn, nothing flowed that easily in ballet. Ever.

Brynn was the odd-ball.

It was as if she wasn't even related to them.

The young girl shook her head. She walked out of the bathroom and back into the kitchen, looking for her cousin. He was nowhere to be found, so she wandered. Looking at the few knickknacks they had scattered around their house, pictures of people who she didn't recognize. Then her eyes landed on the picture of them. _All_ of them.

Her mother and father with her aunt and uncle right next to them. They were smiling. Annalice, Genevieve and herself were in front of her parents while Moose stood next to Brynn in front of his parents. Light flurries of snow fell as it blanketed the ground and roof of her house back in New Jersey. Her and Moose had the funniest expressions on their face while her two siblings just smiled. That was the last year they spent Christmas together. Her mom and aunt got into an ugly argument. The two families hadn't seen each other in three years.

"You remember that day?" a voice asked from behind her. She turned to find Moose standing in a pair of black shorts and a T-shirt and a smile gracing his lips. His eyes were trained on the picture. "I think your mom yelled at us for making those faces."

"Yeah," she said, recalling that day. "She made us take it over before realizing we wouldn't stop doing it."

Moose laughed. "Yeah."

It was silent for a moment before Moose cleared his throat. "Did you eat dinner yet?"

"Yeah, before I got on the plane," Brynn answered. "Why?"

Moose smiled at his younger cousin. "Are you in the mood for ice cream?"

* * *

The two ended up at Finnegan's Ice Cream Parlor. Moose and Brynn were currently sitting at a table with a red top. He dug into Rockie Road while she carefully ate her strawberry ice cream.

"So why'd your parents ship you to Baltimore," Moose said conversationally.

"I was dancing," Brynn said, not meeting his eyes. Instead she stared down at her cup half-filled with sweet pink ice cream. "My father caught me and got tired of it."

"You were dancing again?"

This time she just looked up at him. He had always known about her dancing. In the three years their families hadn't spoken, they had. They kept in touch. She told him about the dancing, how she was sick of her father treating her like she wasn't worthy of him. Moose would always tell her to keep her head held high and that it would get better. He told her to keep doing what she loved and what she loved was dancing.

"I never stopped."

A few beats of silence before Moose said, "So…what? He just got mad and sent you here?"

"He walked in on me dancing," Brynn answered as she poked her ice cream, remembering what happened only a few days ago. "He slapped me and told me to pack my bags, that he "wouldn't have someone dancing in such a foul manner live under his roof."

"He slapped you?"

Brynn only nodded.

"Slapping your kid just because she…" he trailed off with a sigh. He pushed his cup away having suddenly lost his appetite. Moose looked at his cousin, who was now staring at her food again. "What else did he say to you? 'Cause I know that's not all he said."

"We argued a bit and…"

"And…?" Moose said softly, not wanting to sound too pushy.

"The last words he said to me were, 'You are a disgrace to our family.'"

Moose just stared at her in shock. _Uncle Jerry said that? But…what the hell is going on?_ His eyes were wide and his mouth was opened slightly. His eyes raked over his cousin, his quiet little cousin, who had just told him her father slapped her for _dancing_.

* * *

When they got back home, he told her to get changed and to get a good night's sleep. Their plane left early tomorrow. His parents had managed to take a trip to on a cruise for six weeks. Since they weren't going to be here, they came up with the idea of enrolling Brynn at the high school that was close to NYU. Moose found it, realized it was a few minutes away from the Vault, decided she would live there, and go to school at North Lincoln High School. They told Moose to tell her that they were sorry they couldn't see her and that they love and miss her. They also left behind something for her…what was it…?

_Oh yeah!_ Realization dawned on Moose as he hopped up from his bed and ran to table. He grabbed the wrapped package and sprinted down the hall to the guest room. He quickly knocked on the door before practically kicking it down. Brynn sat on her bed with a bewildered expression etched into her features. "Hey…what's up?"

"This is from us," Moose handed her the package. She hesitantly took it and looked up at him questioningly. Moose smiled and nodded encouragingly.

She punctured the thin wrapping paper with her finger and began tearing it off, catching the pieces and crumpling it up in a ball and tossing it in the small trash can in the corner. She looked down at the gift in her hands.

"We weren't sure if you still wrote like that but…"

The diary was pretty thick; three hundred pages at most. The diary cover was plain white with a stick on the top right-hand corner that said, "Customize your own diary cover they way YOU want to!" She flipped over to the back and found the same thing: a smooth white surface. She fingered through the book and found black lined paper. Brynn looked up at her cousin. She set the book down and hugged him.

"I do," she answered. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Once she was back on her bed she asked, what time do we leave tomorrow?"

"Five in the morning," he answered. Brynn caught sight of the alarm clock next to her bed. The bright red numbers read 8:32 P.M. "You got all your stuff ready?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, goodnight Brynn."

"Night, Moose."

* * *

The plane ride was atrocious.

Throughout the whole time, she felt the back of her seat being pushed by a little heathen who thought it would be funny to kick the chairs more than a hundred times per minute while she tried to sleep. The mother had no idea what was going on due to the fact that she was past out for most of it. Once Moose had fallen asleep and the mother went somewhere, she turned to the little boy.

"Listen kid," she began menacingly, "do it one more time and I swear I'll -"

"Who are you?" a lady with jeans, a pink jacket, and boots asked.

"Oh," Brynn said innocently, pretending the child in her back seat wasn't annoying the crap outta her. "He dropped his toy and needed my help to get it."

"Why thank you," a kind smile spread across the woman's face as she looked down at her boy who had his toy clutched in his hand.

"Mom that's not -"

"Be nice Nicholas!" she snapped.

"But -"

"No buts," she stopped him again. "Say thank you to the young girl."

"Thank you," he grumbled unwillingly.

Brynn flashed what she hoped was a gentle smile in his direction. "Your welcome." she stated before turning around. That's when she heard the low grunt before something sold slammed in the back of her chair causing her to jump in pain.

"Nicholas!" the mother screeched. "Apologize! _Now_!"

"No!" he screeched. Apparently something the mother did or said made him say, "Sorry."

"It's fine," Brynn grimaced. _Butthead_, she thought.

The little boy cried for the rest of the plane ride.

* * *

**Hey guys! Chapter two is complete and chapter three is on its way. I'm really glad you guys like this story so much. I was so happy when I got all the reviews and story/favorite alerts. There wasn't dancing in this one and I know what you're probably thinking. **

_What the crap? _**thinks the reader as they read the Author's Note at the end of chapter two. **_There wasn't any dancing. Is she _INSANE?

**Don't worry, I'll definitely have dancing in the next chapter. So, until then, my loyal and lovely readers! Don't forget to review and, if you haven't already, add this story to your story alert/favorite story list(s). Thanks again guys and I'm glad you all like the story! :D**


	3. Welcome to New York, Baby!

_Disclaimer - I don't own any part of the Step Up franchise, any music that came from another artist that I incorporate into this story, and Old Navy_._ I do own, however, all the OC's that have been incorporated into this story that came from me._

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* * *

"**These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate**__**."**_

**-Rob Thomas, **_Little Wonders_

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* * *

_

_**New York: Dance Center of the World**_

"Is it always this hectic?" Brynn asked herself under her breath as Moose spoke to Camille over the phone and popping her ears a few times before finally getting rid of that invisible barrier. Their plane had landed a few minutes ago and they were currently waiting for her to get here. People bustled out of every corner, shoving past each other, hardly muttering excuse me. Back in New Jersey, it was never this busy.

"Cam, no," he said for the fifth time. "Look for a curly-haired skinny kid in a purple beanie. Brynn…"

He shot her a look before averting his eyes back to door with people pouring out at a steady pace.

"…is wearing a pair of black skinny jeans and a green -"

"Old Navy hoodie?" guessed a voice from behind them.

They both turned to see a girl with golden brown hair and a bright smile staring back at them. Brynn smiled back as Camille held her arms out, gesturing for a hug. The ex-ballet dancer launched herself into them willingly. "It's been so long."

"Yeah," agreed Camille. "How've you been?"

"Good," Brynn nodded. "What about you?"

"Great," Cam nodded in return, about to ask some more questions before Moose interrupted.

"Okay can we talk in the car?" he said hurriedly, jumping up and down lightly to conserve body heat. "It's freezing out here."

Once they were all inside the car Moose turned the heat on. Camille sat in the driver's seat while Brynn sat in the back behind her cousin.

"Are you excited?" Camille glanced at the fifteen-year-old in the rearview mirror.

"For what?" Brynn asked, her eye brows scrunching together in confusion.

"Your first day of school is tomorrow," Camille sated as she stopped at a red light. She turned her head to glare at the boy with the purple beanie. "Didn't Moose tell you?"

At the sound of his name, Moose's eyes snapped wide open.

"No…he must've forgotten to mention that."

"And you'll be living at the Vault."

"The…_what_?"

"Moose!"

"Yes…?"

"You didn't tell her?"

"I was going to," he said defensively.

Just then, the light turned green again, signaling they could go. Camille stepped on the gas and made a sharp turn. Forgetting the current conflict for the moment, Brynn looked around. It was bright out as Camille weaved her way through the backstreets of New York. Snow flitted down, blanketing the ground and greenery.

"Okay, so Brynn?" Moose asked, turning in his seat to face his younger cousin. "You're going to go to North Lincoln High, it's only a few minutes from both NYU and the Vault, which is where you'll be living and -"

"What is that anyway?" Brynn interrupted. "The Vault? It sounds kinda creepy to be honest with you."

He chuckled. "It's the place where the Pirates live. Our crew. You'll live there since you can't live on campus."

"Um…"

"Don't worry," Moose assured. "I'm sure you'll fit right in."

"This is it," announced Moose as Camille pulled up to a large cement building. A few random flyers stuck to it and graffiti was sprayed on the far end of the wall to the left. Brynn followed them up to a door. Once Moose opened it and stepped inside, then gestured for her to do the same. The ex-ballet dancer did so until she found themselves in a large crate type thing.

"Moose…?"

"Calm down."

He turned and pulled something down and they started moving up. An elevator. Camille squeezed Brynn's shoulder in assurance, silently telling her everything's okay. Brynn took a deep breath and braced herself. When the door opened, she sure wasn't expecting what was in front of her.

Music was playing loudly, leaving no part of the room untouched with the fresh, crisp beat. People were everywhere, scattered, dancing in some way. She saw some guy in the corner moving like a robot. Someone bouncing off a wall with colorful squares and into a pit of cubes. Twins dancing on a platform with three guys standing in front of them laughing. Next thing she knew the twins were on the floor and the three guys were dancing on the platform.

_Holy shit_, Brynn thought as she took in the atmosphere.

"Moose!" someone called from their right. "Camille!"

"Guys," Moose called above the music. It stopped suddenly and people were walking towards them. "This is my younger cousin I was telling you about."

"Penelope Brynn Griffins," she smiled broadly. "But you can just call me Brynn."

A whole chorus of greetings welcomed her.

"I'm Anala," a girl with red hair stated, holding a hand out. Brynn took it, giving a small shake before drawing back.

"These are the Santiago Twins," Camille gestured to the twins who had been dancing on the platform just moments. They had caps on their heads with saggy skinny jeans. They each grabbed one of her hands and kissed.

"Ey -"

"-chica!"

Brynn smiled and laughed.

"What? I can't finish my own sentences now?" said one of the twins, looking in the other's direction.

"I can't start my own?"

"I'm just trying to be polite –"

"Oh by kissing her hand?"

"You did it too!"

"You were practically—"

"Those three right there are The Ticks," Moose said, forgetting all about the current banter his friends were in. The three boys who had taken the Santiago Twins' place on the platform had broad smiles on their faces. She shook each of their hands.

"And this is Jacob," Brynn's cousin nodded to a dark man with tattoos riding up his arm. They were intricate shapes, twining and intersecting. Some just sitting there individually.

"Hello," he smiled and held his hand out. They gave a small shake before letting go.

"And this—" Camille pointed at a guy with dark hair and eyes "—is Legz."

She shook hands with him as well.

"Okay, so since she's going to be living here, please tell me you guys have an extra room or space for her," Moose said.

"Yeah, of course," replied someone who came out from their left. He wore cool glasses and dirty off-white overalls with some boots. "I'm Jason by the way. It's nice to meet you…"

"Brynn," the young girl supplied quickly, her polite smile never leaving her face. "Call me Brynn."

"It's nice to meet you Brynn," Jason said again. "Moose has told us so much about you."

"Cool."

"This is your room I guess you could call it," Anala said as she gestured to the place that was officially Brynn's living space. There was a black futon with a pillow and a few blankets folded neatly on the bed. A small dresser with three drawers sat next to it with an alarm clock and a lamp on it's smooth surface. Light green and blue sheets were substituted for walls and a door, giving enough room to not be too cramped inside.

"It's not much but once you decorate and get settled," Anala stated with her hands firmly planted on her hips, "you'll get used to it."

"Yeah. You're right," Brynn agreed as she set all her bags down in a corner.

"Is there anything else you need?"

"No," Brynn shook her head. "I'm good. Thank you for everything."

"No problem," she smiled. Then added, "Oh and if you ever need any privacy, just take this -" she took a bright red handkerchief that hung from a ring on the wall and flung it over the sheet that was being used as a door so it hung off both edges "- and do that."

"Thanks Anala."

"Don't worry about it," she said. "You have a big day tomorrow, so I guess I'll let you do whatever it is you need to do for the night."

"Okay," Brynn smiled sweetly. "Night."

"Night."

Then the redhead left. Brynn took a deep breath and looked at the bags she had plopped in the corner. She started unpacking and placing things in her drawers, carefully and quietly. Once she was done, she placed the outfit she was going to wear for tomorrow on top of her dresser with the shoes neatly on the ground in front of it. Next, she picked up her book bag she had gotten today along with the two bags of school supplies.

After the introductions, Moose and Camille had taken her to go get school supplies. They had gone to three different stores just to find both her book bag and school supplies. Each store they went to didn't have that much; all they had there was - for lack of a better word - crap. Finally they went to the Wal-Mart across town and found what they needed. Her backpack was a normal JanSport: a rectangular pocket in the front and a full sized one for books and whatnot in the back. It was black with colorful graffiti and paint splatters all over it. She took out all her notebooks and folders and placed them in her bag next, along with her pencils, pens and hi-liters. Once that was done, she looked at the last bag she had on the floor.

Brynn sat on the black futon and hauled the bag onto her crossed legs. Zipping it open, she sighed. Even though, she hadn't wanted the MacBook Pro laptop, it was a birthday present from her parents. While her sisters had been the ones to beg for it, Brynn hadn't really cared if she had to keep using her mom's Dell. Her parents had insisted, though, and when that happens you couldn't deny. Right now, it just reminded her of home and everything that had happened just a few days ago. She pressed the Power button in the top right-hand corner and her laptop began powering up. A few seconds later, Brynn was staring at the picture of the colorful wallpaper.

She hurriedly went on the Internet and logged onto the school's website. After twenty minutes of looking at some of the faculty members, looking at a map of the school, and just perusing through, she heard the faint beat of music. She hesitantly closed her laptop, and set it back in its case. Before she could stop herself, however, she was already creeping down the stairs, following the beat.

"…_lil' mama I can transform ya,_

_No I can't dance but I can dance on ya…_"

Brynn stopped just low enough on the stairs so she could see what they were doing and they - hopefully - couldn't see what she was doing. It didn't feel right for her, to be down here, wondering what they were doing. She should just go to sleep back in her makeshift room but nooo. Her curiosity got the better of her.

"_Swiss on the beats, Chris move your feet…_"

They were dancing.

_Holy shit_, Brynn thought

They all gathered around and were clapping and laughing. Jason was the one in the middle of the small crowd. He sat slumped in the middle of the floor, on his knees. As the robotic spread throughout the room, Jason quickly caught on. Every time a beat rang through he shot up, along with it, until he was standing completely.

"_Hey lil' mama,_

_I can transform ya,_

_No I can't dance but I can dance on ya,_

_Swiss on the beats, Chris move your feet,_

_And baby I can transform ya him into a me."_

He stood on his toes and started tuning on them, making it seem like he was gliding. Something caught the corner of his eyes and suddenly the music stopped and so did he. That something that caught the corner of his eye ended up being a form; that of a teenage girl, to be exact. There, slumped at the foot of the stairs, was Brynn Griffins with a deer-caught-in-the-headlights expression on her face: eyes wider than her head, both filled with an equal amount of fright.

"U-um…I, uhh," she stuttered. "I didn't m-mean to—"

"Did we wake you?" Anala asked hesitantly, trying her best not to make her anymore frazzled than she already is.

"No. I was just…curious," she answered truthfully, not looking at any of the crew members. Suddenly Anala held her hand out to her. Brynn saw it and looked up hesitantly. The redhead's hand didn't wave, but instead straightened a little more, gesturing for her to take it. Brynn reached out slowly and took her hand. Anala pulled up the girl and brought her over to where Jason was just dancing. Realizing what was going on, Brynn tried to wriggle out of it but the crew wasn't having.

"Oooh no you don't," said Jason.

"Yeah," agreed Jacob. "We've seen what you're cousin can do but what can _you _do?"

"I…" Brynn began but something caught in her throat. She tried again. "I don't…"

She couldn't say it. _I don't dance_. What was so wrong about those little words? She tried saying it again. Nothing. She sighed and looked around her. They had migrated to the Speaker Room, a bunch of different types and sizes of boom boxes molded together on one wall and a large mat placed on the floor for dancing.

"Come on," Anala encouraged softly.

Brynn took a deep breath and nodded. Someone put the music back on and suddenly she was consumed by this feeling. She couldn't place it at first but then she thought, _Is that…excitement?_

The beat consumed her. It's she heard, all she felt. Once the music turned on, she let it take her. The song was different this time, though.

"_Imma be, Imma be—Imma, Imma, Imma be_

_Imma be, Imma be—Imma, Imma, Imma be_

_Imma be, Imma be—Imma, Imma, Imma be…"_

Brynn popped, dropped and rolled. She moved her feet fast, quickly catching onto the beat. She spun and before she knew it, the music stopped. Her body froze mid-turn and she stood up straight to look around at the crowd around her. All was quiet for a brief moment before the Pirates burst out cheering and high-fiving her.

"Damn," Jason said, looking over at a certain redhead. "She's good."

"She _is_ related to Moose," Anala agreed, taking her eyes off the girl in the middle of the crowd.

"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Jason said, eyes gleaming with a certain mischief to them.

All Anala could was smile and nod at her fellow crew mate.

By the time Brynn had made it back up to her room, it was already ten. She had spent a good two hours getting to know more about the Crew, dancing and just having fun. When Moose had told her that she would get fit right in, he didn't know how right he was. Brynn saw the diary with the smooth hardcover surface sitting on her nightstand. She uncapped a black permanent marker and drew on the front **DANCE **in big, bold, boxed handwriting. She made it 3D by drawing an extra few lines on each letter and shading them in slightly. She picked up a pen and flipped open to the first blank page.

_These are the kinds of people who understand me other than my cousin and his girlfriend. The Pirates know what it's like to not be wanted or feel like they have no place to go. They dance because they love doing it and they would never _stop _doing it. This is what kept them going, they never gave up._

_Neither will I._

_-Brynn_

She closed the book and stuffed it in her bottom drawer, all the way in the back, underneath a pile of clothes. She turned the lamp off and lie down. She closed her eyes and smiled.

* * *

**Hey guys! Alright, I know it's a bit late but I hope you guys enjoyed it. The music is kinda dead and gone and I wouldn'****t mind getting a few suggestions for some songs, so if you guys could do that for me, I would really appreciate it. I know the dancing wasn't great and I wouldn't mind getting some pointers on that either. I'm working on the next chapter now so hopefuly I get that up sooner than I got this one up. That's it for now, my loyal and lovely readers. Until then! :D**


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